Mississippi State
South Carolina
No. 26 Bulldogs Win Fifth Straight, Down No. 45 Gamecocks, 4-1
April 05, 2015 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Fresh off their stellar upset of No. 6 Georgia Friday night, the 26th-ranked Mississippi State men's tennis team (17-5, 8-2 SEC) kept the good times rolling Easter Sunday, defeating No. 45 South Carolina (12-13, 2-8 SEC) 4-1 at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.
The win extends the Bulldogs' winning streak to five straight matches and is the 10th win for MSU in its last 12 contests. State has also captured victory in its last six meetings with South Carolina.
“Very good win for our guys today, especially coming off that tough win against Georgia on Friday,” MSU coach Matt Roberts said. “Sometimes its difficult to come off that kind of emotional high and play against a tough team like South Carolina. We could have been more energetic and more passionate at times, but, being young squad, I thought the guys did a good job of doing what they had to do to get the victory.”
MSU now has eight SEC wins for the 2015 season, which is the most since capturing nine league victories in 2012.
State continued its doubles domination on Sunday, picking up wins on courts two and three to seal the match's opening point for the 17th time this year. With the win, MSU is now 14-3 when taking the doubles point.
Singles play proved to be a tighter affair, but the Bulldogs would still prevail thanks to hard-fought victories from Mate Cutura, Rishab Agarwal and Julian Cash. The Gamecocks would capture their lone point on court four.
Juan Cruz Estevarena and Robin Haden kicked things off in doubles, breaking early on and never looking back, taking a 6-2 win against USC's Andrew Adams and Andrew Schafer on court three. Cutura and Tassilo Schmid nearly landed in trouble on court two, but fought off several break points to hold late in the match. They would then break, taking a 6-4 win from the Gamecocks' Thomas Mayronne and Sam Swank to clinch doubles.
Play on court one was suspended after Cutura and Schmid's clinch, with MSU's No. 14 team of Cash and Florian Lakat and USC's No. 31 tandem of Kyle Koch and Thiago Pinheiro tied at 5-5.
The Bulldogs would jump out of the gates quickly in singles play, taking first sets on four courts early on. No. 108 Lakat would make it five first sets for MSU after taking his opening frame 7-6(4) on court one.
Cash was the first to finish for the Maroon and White, defeating USC's Swank 6-2, 6-2 at No. 6 to give the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead. The Gamecocks would answer on court four, as Pinheiro defeated MSU's No. 122 Schmid 6-1, 6-1, but USC would score no more from there on.
After taking his opening set 6-2, Agarwal would enter a second set that saw nine of the 12 games played resulting in service breaks. The MSU sophomore eventually gained control of the match late, earning a hold to go up 6-5 and following it up with a break to seal the match. Agarwal would register his eighth-straight victory and increase his team-leading total to 15 dual match wins, defeating USC's Mayronne 6-2, 7-5.
The match clincher would come on court three, as reigning SEC Player of the Week Cutura continued his tear through the SEC slate. After holding to force a second-set tiebreaker, Cutura would finally fend off the Gamecocks' Schafer for a 6-2, 7-6(5) win. The victory increased his winning streak to eight and improved his SEC record to a league-best 8-0.
Play on courts one and two were suspended at the clinch. Lakat was leading USC's Adams 7-6(4), 2-1 at the top spot, while Estevarena had just been pushed to a third set by South Carolina's Koch, 6-2, 4-6 at No. 2.
“Moving forward, we're really excited about the last two matches of the season,” Roberts said. “We have tough contests in Vanderbilt and LSU, plus postseason play, but we're excited to see what we can do. Proud of the guys for how they have fought so far this year and cannot wait to see what we do from here on out.”
The Bulldogs will split next weekend, travelling to No. 17 Vanderbilt on Friday, April 10, for a 5 p.m. CT. MSU will close out the season with a Senior Day match against No. 24 LSU Sunday, April 12, at the Pitts Tennis Centre at 1 p.m., a contest rescheduled from earlier in the season due to rain.
MSU will then travel to compete in the 2015 SEC Championship to be held April 15-19 in College Station, Texas.
For more information on Mississippi State men's tennis and updates, fans can follow the Bulldogs on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at HailStateMT.
No. 26 Mississippi State 4, No. 45 South Carolina 1
April 5, 2015 – A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre – Starkville, Miss.
Doubles
1. No. 14 Julian Cash/Florian Lakat (MSU) vs. No. 31 Kyle Koch/Thiago Pinheiro (USC) 5-5(susp.)
2. Mate Cutura/Tassilo Schmid (MSU) def. Thomas Mayronne/Sam Swank (USC) 6-4
3. Juan Cruz Estevarena/Robin Haden (MSU) def. Andrew Adams/Andrew Schafer (USC) 6-2
Singles
1. No. 108 Lakat (MSU) vs. Adams (USC) 7-6(4), 2-1 (susp.)
2. Estevarena (MSU) vs. Koch (USC) 6-3, 4-6 (susp.)
3. Cutura (MSU) def. Schafer (USC) 6-2, 7-6(5)
4. Pinheiro (USC) def. No. 122 Schmid (MSU) 6-1, 6-1
5. Rishab Agarwal (MSU) def. Mayronne (USC) 6-2, 7-5
6. Cash (MSU) def. Swank (USC) 6-2, 6-2
Order of finish… Doubles (2,1)… Singles (6,4,5,3)
